We live for Tomorrow
by Sakae Kashiwagi
Summary: Romantic drabbles beginning after the manga ends... Inuyasha and Kagome
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** I have read the very end of Inuyasha (the manga). This fan fiction takes place almost immediately after the end of the series. There will be spoiler-like details. You have been warned.

oOo

**_Was it a dream?_**

oOo

Many stars crowded the night sky. The moon loomed low on the forested horizon. The warm summer breeze moved through Inuyasha's long, silver hair. His pointed ears swiveled on the top of his head as he listened to the loud locusts and chirping insects. The occasional owl would hoot softly in the distance.

His golden eyes were fixed on the dying campfire. It cast a gentle glow on the sleeping Kagome. He tried to keep his gaze from drifting over her. He tried to keep it from noticing her slightly parted lips. Involuntarily, his ears swiftly spun toward her, focusing. He could hear her breathing slowly and deeply. As if satisfied they continued their patrol.

She stirred slightly in her sleep, murmured something, and then hugged the small, sleeping kitsune closer to her. Her countenance had changed from relaxed to worried.

Inuyasha wondered what she was dreaming about. He half prepared himself for a 'sit'. It did not come however. She rolled over, dragging the soundly sleeping and slightly drooling Shippou with her.

Her back was to him now and he quickly decided he didn't like it.

Putting Tetsusaiga down, he quietly got up and went to stand over her. She murmured some vowels in a pained voice, unknowingly commanding the full attention of his ears.

Inuyasha crouched down next to her and rested his hand on her arm. Her white sleeve of the traditional miko garb was warm. His hand skimmed up her arm to her shoulder.

Her face relaxed slightly at the touch. His clawed fingers began to tangle themselves in her soft hair. His claws had never been happier. He watched her face intently. She seemed to be almost happy now. Inuyasha wanted very badly to lie down next to her.

His face turned red as an embarrassing thought popped into his head. He realized that if anyone stumbled in on their camp, they would think that Kagome was his mate and that Shippou was his pup.

After that momentary pause, his finger began to play in Kagome's hair. He then found himself unconsciously stroking her head. Was he petting her head like a dog's? He was doing it because he thought she would like it, but that was because he liked it and he liked it because he was like a dog. He slowly stopped, thinking it was foolish.

"Mm, don't stop…"

Kagome had barely whispered but it was clear in Inuyasha's ears. He flushed red for a couple of reasons but kept his hand moving. Soon he heard her taking the deep breaths of sleep again. His hand slowed its massage and gently lifted away. He grabbed Tetsusaiga and laid it closer to him. Then, lifting up the blanket Kagome slept under, he slid in beside her. He was surprised by how well their bodies seemed to fit together. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned on him comfortably.

He nuzzled against her neck, breathing in her scent. He then gave that small portion of exposed and vulnerable skin a kiss.

In the morning Kagome sat up slowly, slightly groggy. She saw Inuyasha cooking a fish on a stick over a newly built up fire. She smiled faintly.

Was it a dream? She wondered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** I have read the very end of Inuyasha (the manga). This fan fiction takes place almost immediately after the end of the series. There will be spoiler-like details. You have been warned.

oOo

_**Clean Me.**_

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Inuyasha's nose twitched when he smelled the contents of Kagome's stomach. She had thrown up what little she had tried to eat.

He immediately jumped up from where he had been sitting inside the hut to investigate. As he walked out into the hot sun, his senses picked up the smell of her sweat. He quickly found her leaning heavily on a tree a little ways behind Kaede's home.

"Hey you! Is this what you mean when you excuse yourself to do your 'business'?"

She leaned over shakily. Her lack of a retort concerned him further.

He laid his hand on her back. "You didn't say you were this sick."

"I didn't… think I was…" Her voice was weak and gasping.

Inuyasha's hand came up to rest on her forehead. "You have a fever." He scooped her up quickly and began to fly toward the river in his usual enormous leaps.

"No!" She quickly said batting at him deliriously.

He slowed and stood with her in his arms. "Yes. You're very sick and you need-"

"No, not that," she said shaking her head. "My stomach can't take that- your jumping."

"Oh."

He had to walk slowly with her in his arms. It wasn't something he was used to. Usually they were off to places at great speed. He had to pay very careful attention to how much he jostled her.

He village people weren't used to this either. They stared, wondering what was going on with their precious miko. Inuyasha was glad when he had passed out of the village.

His golden eyes looked down at her. Beads of sweat formed on her face as it was scrunched up in nauseous torment. She burned like fire in his arms.

Eventually, they made it to the river. He continued to walk directly into it. The cold water pulled at them, soaking their clothes, and cooling them off quickly. As he stood in the river, Inuyasha wiped Kagome's face with his soaked sleeve. Her eyes, which had mostly been shut tight, opened blearily.

"It feels good…"

He then carried her limp body toward the shore.

There was a sandy spot where water met land that he chose to gently lay her down. A large tree shaded them as tall grasses hid them from view of passersby. Their cool wet clothes clung to their bodies and helped with the summer heat. Sand stuck to them as they rolled in it slightly.

Inuyasha's clawed hands tested her forehead again.

"Your fever isn't so bad."

"Uh-huh." She sounded exhausted.

"You're studying healing from Kaede and you didn't even know you were that sick?"

"Uh-huh."

"You must not be a very good healer…"

"Uh-huh… Wait. What? Shut up."

He leaned over her, grinning in her face. "You're feeling better?"

"A little…"

"Well, hurry it up. You have stuff to do."

"Leave me alone! Or else…"

"You can't 'sit' me. I'm above you. That would kill you in your weak state."

"Then you'd better get away from me or else I might do it by accident and then you'd feel guilty for killing me."

"What? Stop talking nonsense. Your fever must be getting worse again."

"Shut up!"

He did. But his taunting smirk was louder than any word at the moment.

It might have been the fever, it might have been stupidity, but she couldn't resist. "Sit."

His eyes grew wide and suddenly he was trying with all his might not to crush her beneath him. His arms were holding himself up against an extremely powerful force that was trying to pull him down. Each of his palms sunk deep into the sand on either side of her. Their noses were touching. And then, it was over as he crashed into her.

Luckily the sand was soft. They were mostly buried in it. His body was pressed flat against hers. Their legs were tangled.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled in anger. He knew she was alright; he had nothing to fear, because she was giggling. His yell was muffled though because his face was planted firmly in the sand. At the last second before the collision, he managed to maneuver his face away from hers so that they wouldn't bash heads. This meant she could breathe clearly with her face above the sand while he was choking.

Spitting furiously he got his head into the air. Kagome's cheek brushed his. He noticed that she had stopped giggling.

"Inuyasha…" Her arms turned over sand as she hugged him. He felt that she was still feverish.

He sighed but suddenly turned redder than his kimono at her next statement.

"Sand gets everywhere," she murmured into his hair. "Clean me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** I have read the very end of Inuyasha (the manga). This fan fiction takes place almost immediately after the end of the series. There will be spoiler-like details. You have been warned.

oOo

_**...Fulfilling Gifts.  
**_

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The saccades were almost deafening in the last hours of sunlight. Inuyasha and Miroku walked the dusty road back to the village while carting bundles of rice: their payment of another job well done.

"This is the easy life…" Miroku mused.

"Keh, that's because you're not pulling the cart." Inuyasha hoisted the cart slightly.

Miroku chuckled. "Surely such a feat is easy though, compared to all of our trials."

"Yeah…" Inuyasha sounded slightly melancholy.

"You don't miss the old days, do you?" Miroku pondered.

"Well, it's not that I miss Naraku or any of the Shikon no Tama's problems, I just miss… something…"

"The adventure? The excitement? The danger?"

"Maybe… I miss protecting Kagome."

"What? You still do."

"From what, bed bugs and fleas? There's nothing that bothers us anymore. It makes me feel…"

"A little useless?"

"Say what?" Inuyasha raised his fist in anger, but quickly had to place it back on the cart to keep it from tipping over.

"It's alright Inuyasha. You can admit it. It's not a big deal. I myself felt similarly when my wind tunnel disappeared."

The hanyou looked at his dirtied feet as they continued on in silence for a moment. "But you don't seem to feel useless anymore."

"Oh, no. I don't."

"Why?"

"Because, even though Sango has never been a stronger fighter, she suddenly needs me more than ever. And nothing makes a man like me feel better than when a beautiful woman needs me."

"You sound disgusting… but of course Sango needs you. You made her have three kids in less than three years while Kagome was gone."

Miroku couldn't help himself from smiling.

"Stop that. You look like a creep when you smile like that."

Miroku laughed, "Well, anyway. Do you feel unfulfilled because you think Kagome doesn't need you?"

"No."

"Well, I think that when you get married next week, you won't feel like this anymore. You will find all sorts of new fulfillment. You should be excited."

"I am excited. But you don't have to put it like that."

Miroku snorted, "Are you a man or aren't you? You act like you haven't-"

"I haven't!"

"Oh, well, I didn't know you were waiting… like Sango made me."

"Of course I'm waiting! I have morals!"

"I have morals too! But that's beside the point…"

"The point being- I won't be feeling 'useless' when I get married?"

"Indeed. She will have you running about for strange requests of food. And she will want you to massage her aching feet all the time. And she will ask you if she looks fat and you must say she is beautiful. And you will probably get 'sat' a lot even if you're doing everything perfectly."

Inuyasha ran through Miroku's list and realized he had seen Miroku experience something similar with Sango. He flushed slightly. "Why? Because she'll be having… kids?"

"Exactly. Children are the most fulfilling gifts. You should have lots."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** I have read the very end of Inuyasha (the manga). This fan fiction takes place almost immediately after the end of the series. There will be spoiler-like details. You have been warned.

oOo

_**Duty...**_

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Inuyasha was sprawled in the shade of a favorite tree while Miroku's young twin daughters tugged at his ears and bounced on top of him. Miroku was playing with his new son while Kagome and Sango brought the picnic lunch.

"Miroku!" Inuyasha snapped.

The monk looked over. "Girls, I told you, 'not the ears'."

They giggled and then contented themselves with pulling up grass and letting it rain down on the hanyou.

"I'm back!" Shippou announced as he bounded up to Kagome, tugging on her hakama.

"What? Already?" Inuyasha said from his spot in the grass.

"I'm an Upper Senior 8th Rank now!"

"You took another youjutsu exam?" Sango asked, setting down a basket.

"But you were just 7th rank a month ago." Kagome sat down near Inuyasha who sneezed from the grass, sending the little girls into giggles.

"You're advancing very rapidly, Shippou." Miroku commented with a nod.

Shippou grinned wide. "It's because of all the practice on Inuyasha."

Inuyasha sat up and lifted the twins by their obis. He deposited them on top of Shippou, "Slay the kitsune."

"Shippou!" screamed one.

"Slay!" screamed the other.

And then they began their favorite game. Shippou lay helplessly pinned.

They then began to eat. The twins had to receive a few curt commands to leave Shippou alone though, and eat like young ladies.

"After this, Kagome and I are going to shop for her wedding kimono. Miroku will escort us so Inuyasha must stay and watch the children."

"What?" Inuyasha said choking on a mouthful of rice. "Why can't I go? Make Miroku stay. They are his kids. Or let Kaede and Rin watch them."

"Well," Kagome cut in, "I was going to tell you sooner, but, there's this superstition that a groom shouldn't see the bride's clothes before the wedding or else there will be bad luck."

"I've never heard of this superstition." Inuyasha said with a sour face.

"Well, it comes from the other side of the well," Kagome replied with a nervous smile.

Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest. His face continued to look sour.

"I'm sorry! But please!" Kagome threw her arms around Inuyasha.

Suddenly it was harder to be angry. "Fine," reluctance was heavy in his voice.

After they had all finished eating, the group split.

Shippou jumped up into Kagome's arms. Miroku and Sango, who had the baby strapped to her back, began walking toward the road that would lead into the town of their destination.

Inuyasha carried the twins on his shoulders toward Kaede's hut. He did not look back, but Kagome did. She watched him go down into the village. The little girls were playing with his ears the whole way, yelling, "Doggy! Doggy!"

"C'mon Kagome," Shippou whined, "They're leaving without us."

Kagome watched until she could no longer see the white ears disappearing behind a hill. "Okay Shippou," she said while spinning around to catch up to her friends.

Back at Kaede's hut, Inuyasha was quickly depositing the twins.

Rin came in to see Inuyasha telling Kaede that she was to babysit for the afternoon.

"Eh?" Kaede took the now yawning pair of twins into her arms. "I thought it was your duty to stay here."

Rin took the twins, "Kari, Mari, come. Nap time…" and led the twins to lie down on the mats near the small fire.

"My duty," he responded while leaving, "is to stay with Kagome."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:** I have read the very end of Inuyasha (the manga). This fan fiction takes place almost immediately after the end of the series. There will be spoiler-like details. You have been warned.

oOo

_**Spying.**_

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Kagome, Shippou, and Sango searched through elaborate kimonos as Miroku hung back.

A pebble hit Miroku in the shoulder. He looked around for the source. Inuyasha was perched on the roof, hiding as best as a white haired, half demon can. Miroku figured this would happen.

'How long is this going to take?' Inuyasha mouthed the words to the monk.

Miroku shrugged, and then smirked. "Perhaps you should have obeyed Kagome. Perhaps she was trying to spare you." The monk whispered, sure that the dog ears could hear him easily, even from the great distance.

Inuyasha didn't like what he heard, however.

"Do you spy on her a lot? When she tells you not to look?" Miroku whispered the question, trying not to laugh at his friend.

Miroku was hit in the forehead by a pebble.

Far away, back at the village, Rin stepped out of the hut. Watching the twins sleep was peaceful, but for some reason she was restless. She told Kaede she was going on a walk and would be back soon.

Rin wandered through the village, to the edge of the forest. She into the shadows, wondering what was making her feel anxious. She wondered what it was that her human senses could not perceive. Her thoughts quickly traveled to Sesshoumaru. And it is there that they lingered.

Rin stepped into the forest.

She did not expect to see him, but somehow, in the coolness of the shade, she felt closer to him. Maybe she was. She probably was. And then, there was the glinting light of silver, oddly out of place beneath the trees. When she tried to find its source, it was long gone.

Would Sesshoumaru spy on her? She could only hope so.


End file.
